


A Guide to Exploring Abandoned Churches by Park Jisung

by Nikki_Ann



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Christianity, Demonic Possession, Demons, Established Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Gay, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Nerd Huang Ren Jun, Panic Attacks, Park Jisung & Zhong Chen Le Are Best Friends, Sad Lee Jeno, Sad Park Jisung (NCT), Scared Park Jisung (NCT), Spooky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22986490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikki_Ann/pseuds/Nikki_Ann
Summary: An odd group of friends, a very Christian boy named Jisung, Chenle, a boy whose always ready for an adventure, Jeno, the soccer team captain, Renjun, a sarcastic nerd, and Jaemin, who doesn't believe in ghosts or superstitions, all go to school together. One day, Chenle finds an abandoned Church and thinks it's a good idea to have the five of them spend the night there to go ghost hunting.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	A Guide to Exploring Abandoned Churches by Park Jisung

**Author's Note:**

> Oneshot. Possibly might continue? It's still up in the air. Let me know what you thought down in the comments below please

Rule number one to exploring abandoned Churches: Never travel in groups bigger than 12.

The school day had just finished as Jisung made his way to his locker. Once opened, he put away his things and grabbed his backpack to go home. After closing his locker, before Jisung could even turn to leave, Chenle popped up right behind him.

"Hey!" Chenle scared Jisung. Then again, the boy was easily spooked.

Jisung gasped and put his hand to his chest. "Jimini Crickets, Chenle! You know you can't sneak up on me like that."

"I know I know. Let's go find the others. I have an idea," Chenle squeaked in excitement.

The younger boy smiled at his best friend and shook his head. "Oh no. What is it this time?" he chuckled and followed Chenle down the hall.

Chenle put a finger to his lips and smiled. "You can't know before everyone else. That's cheating."

Jisung rolled his eyes but the smile stayed on his face. "Okay. Jeno has a soccer meeting right now, Renjun is tutoring a kid in math, and Jaemin has nothing to do, so he is in the library. Let's go to Jaemin hyung first," he suggested.

"Sweet. Let's go then," Chenle laughed and hurried down the hall.

Once they arrived at the library, Jisung spotted Jaemin sitting at a table, reading a book. Since no one is allowed to talk in the library, the younger patted Chenle's arm and pointed at their hyung. Chenle smiled as they made their way over to Jaemin.

Chenle approached the older male, then slammed his hands onto the table that he was sitting at. Jaemin jumped and glared at the younger Chinese boy.

Before they could get kicked out because of Chenle's ruckus, Jisung smiled and signalled to have Jaemin follow them out. He helped clean up Jaemin's mess and hurried out with the other two following him.

After successfully exiting the library, but not before getting dirty looks from the librarian, Jaemin turned to the younger boys and raised his eyebrow. "Okay, what's going on?"

"I have another adventure planned. But we have to wait for Renjun and Jeno hyung first," Chenle explained.

"Jeno should be done with his meeting here in the next ten minutes," Jisung stated. "Shall we head that way?"

Chenle nodded while Jaemin sighed. "Okay. Once everyone is gathered, let us know about your new adventure idea," Jaemin said.

"That was the plan," Chenle giggled and hurried to go find Jeno.

Jisung chuckled and walked with Jaemin, following the hyperactive Chinese boy. The older looked at Jisung and took in his style. Everything about their youngest friend screamed innocence. From his Jesus-on-the-cross necklace, Bible in his arms, to his neatly worn black jeans and white shirt. The only thing that countered it all was his messily wavy, blonde hair.

Jaemin couldn't help himself from smiling. What a cute kid, was all he could think when seeing Jisung. Even though the boy was a fifteen year old teenager, he was still cute. Even his rebellious stage was cute to Jaemin. However, even though his rebellious stage hadn't passed yet, Jisung was much more tame.

Upon arriving in the commons area, Jaemin immediately spotted Jeno. He knew that black-haired boy anywhere. They had grown up together and knew so much about each other. But, he also knew that he was in a very important Captain's meeting and that Chenle interrupting was not a good idea. So before the Chinese boy had the chance to walk forward any further, Jaemin stopped him.

"Not yet," Jaemin whispered. "This meeting is very important."

The other two nodded and leaned against the wall to wait for their friend. After five minutes, Jeno stood up, bowed to the other people there, gathered his things, and turned to head out. Upon seeing his friends, he jumped but smiled.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jeno asked.

"Ask spazzy McGee over here," Jaemin replied while gesturing to Chenle.

The Chinese boy laughed once Jeno looked at him. "Once we get Renjun hyung, I'll tell you guys," he answered.

Jeno shrugged but nodded. "Alright. Well, he's this way." He smiled at the others and led the way to a classroom.

Once there, Jeno peeked his head in to see Renjun talking with another student in Chinese. The kid must've had a hard time understanding the teacher and needed Renjun to help translate. Before Renjun noticed them, Jeno and the others shuffled in and all took seats at the vacant desks.

When he heard the noise of bodies flopping down into desks, Renjun looked up and made eye contact with the boy who knew everything about him, Jeno. Since it was Jeno, Renjun had trouble hiding his smile as he continued his lesson with his Chinese underclassmen.

Jeno smiled in satisfaction, knowing full well that he had distracted his boyfriend. He kicked his feet up on the desk, leaned back, and looked at his friends. "I give him, like, five minutes before he gets curious enough to stop his lesson and send the kid home," Jeno whispered.

"I give him less than that," Jaemin whispered back. "He's already sneaking glances at us."

Chenle giggled as Jeno chuckled. As it turned out, Jaemin was right. Once the boys stopped laughing, Renjun smiled at the kid, closed the session, and sent him on his way. Once the kid was gone, Renjun stood up and began packing up his things.

"Okay, what's going on?" Renjun asked.

Jisung spoke first. "Chenle has an idea for a new adventure for us. He wouldn't tell us until we were all together."

Renjun nodded and made his way over to the rest of them. "Alright. Well, now I'm here. Spill it."

"Okay! So, I found an abandoned Church down the street from my house! Let's go explore it!" Chenle exclaimed. "We're gonna go ghost hunting!"

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea, Chenle," Jisung shook his head.

"Jesus Christ, Chenle. What gave you this idea?" Jeno questioned.

"The man himself!" Chenle exclaimed.

"Please do not say the Lord's name in vain," Jisung exhaled. "An abandoned Church is no longer holy. If we go in there, we risk meeting, not just ghosts, but _demons!"_

"That sounds fun," Jaemin chuckled. "Let's go meet some demons."

"No! Not fun! Do you know why churches get abandoned?" Jisung countered. "Because the devil took over! Demons are the work of the devil and they are not to be trifled with!"

"Then you can protect us," Jeno assumed. "Right? Mister Pastor-in-training?"

Jisung stopped. He really did not want to go to that church. "You guys are gonna go, no matter what I say. Aren't you?"

Jeno nodded. "Yup. More than likely," he answered.

The youngest sighed and hid his face in his hands. After rubbing his face, he looked back up at the others and shook his head. "I really don't want to go… but I will if I have to."

"Sweet!" Chenle smiled. "Let's all head home to put our things away and prepare for the hunt. We'll meet up at 9 o'clock tonight at Jisung's."

"Why my house?" Jisung asked.

"Because you live across the street from me and it's the easiest to get to," Chenle explained. "Sound good to everyone?"

Jisung looked around in hopes that his friends had more common sense than Chenle. As they all began to nod their approval, he sighed in defeat. He figured if they were all going, he'd have to as well. "Alright, fine. I'll see you all at 9."

Everyone nodded in agreement and headed to their respective homes. Jisung sighed as he walked to his house. What was he gonna do? How was he going to prepare for this?

Rule number three: Bring water and some snacks, but no wine.

After arriving home, Jisung decided the best place to go to try and prepare for this adventure would be the internet. He looked up what to do when exploring abandoned churches just to be safe, and went from there.

After doing his research, he packed his bag full of snacks and water for the five of them. Then, he took one of his cross charms off of his keychain, held it in his hands, and prayed.

"Dear heavenly Father, please forgive my friends and I for what we are about to do. Please give us the strength and protection from whatever it may be in that forsaken building. And please let us get out alive. Protect us and all who bares the cross. In Jesus name, Amen." He opened his hands and placed a kiss on the charm before putting on his bag for protection.

Once he was done packing and praying, Jisung looked at the time and realized he still had a few hours. So, he placed his bag on the bed and headed down the road to his local church. His Pastor was bound to know something about abandoned churches, right?

Upon entering, he immediately felt safe and at ease. Jisung spent most of his time here helping out. The second he stepped foot in the sanctuary, the Pastor turned and immediately recognized him. He welcomed the boy with open arms. Jisung smiled and hugged him.

"So, Jisung. You seemed troubled. What brings you here today?" The Pastor asked.

Jisung sighed and nodded. "My friends and I are going somewhere and I couldn't think of any other place to come but here. I'm worried, Pastor Ashely, and I was hoping to get some protection for all of us."

Pastor Ashely's face fell for a split second. "How many of you are there?" he wondered.

"There's five of us," Jisung answered.

The Pastor sighed and turned slightly to grab something. He held up five golden cross necklaces. "God told me that a group of five we're going to be in need of protection from something evil." He shook his head. "I feared that it was yours and I was correct. So, these necklaces were bathed in holy water and blessed." He took one and put it on Jisung himself, then placed the rest in Jisung's hand. "Please take them."

Jisung nodded and bowed. "Thank you so much, Pastor Ashely. I appreciate it."

"And one more thing," Pastor Ashely held up a small, velvety, purple pouch. "It contains three vials of holy water just in case you need it. Whatever you and your friends are doing, all I ask is that you be careful."

Jisung held the pouch in his hand and nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you so much for your kindness."

"May God stay with you on your adventure," the Pastor said.

Putting the pouch away carefully, Jisung hurried back out and to his house. When he went back inside, he noticed that his best friend had already let himself in and was sitting on his bed.

"Hey Jisung," Chenle smiled at him. "Ready for our adventure?"

"Not really," the younger confessed. He set the pouch down and beckoned Chenle over with a wiggle of his finger. "C'mere."

Chenle obeyed and made his way over to his friend. "What is it?" he asked.

Jisung said nothing as he took one of the necklaces out and put it on Chenle. He was going to make sure nothing happened to his best friend. "I went to my Pastor for some help and he gave me necklaces to give to everyone. Please keep it on. I want to make sure you're safe."

The older boy turned to Jisung. "You're really serious about this protection stuff, aren't you?"

Jisung nodded. "About as serious as you are about going to this church. It has demons in it. I just have this feeling."

"Thank you for coming along then," Chenle smiled and hugged the younger tightly. "You're the bestest friend ever."

Jisung hugged back just as tight and took a deep, calming breath. "I'm just worried is all."

"You worry too much," the Chinese boy chuckled lightly but took Jisung's words seriously. The younger boy was known to worry a lot and too much. It was as if his brain never stopped thinking about the worst thing that could happen in any given situation. He had a feeling it was because of some type of anxiety disorder but that was never confirmed.

Jisung sat down on his bed to relax. They weren't even at the church yet and he was already a mess. Imagine what he was going to be like once they got there! He took several deep breaths to calm down.

Chenle was never one for religion but had always supported Jisung's dream of becoming a pastor, especially after his parents had divorced. It had been a tough time for him and Chenle just couldn't imagine what it would be like seeing your parents constantly fighting and then one day, your dad just packs his stuff and leaves.

Jisung's pastor had been there for him during that time and it had inspired Jisung to want to do the same. But at the same time, Chenle worried that too much religion would be a bad thing for him. Especially since they can ignore the signs of a mental illness or make someone feel as if they're just not good enough. And with Jisung's constant worrying, that was not a good thing.

"Hey Jisung?" Chenle started. When the younger looked up at him, he continued. "Have you ever thought about the possibility that you could have anxiety?"

Jisung nodded. "Yeah. Pastor Ashely said the same thing."

"He did?" Chenle was shocked that the pastor even paid that much attention to him.

The younger nodded again. "Yes. He got his PhD in psychology before he became a pastor. Helping people has always been something he's been passionate about. So, he got his PhD in order to be better at it."

Chenle was at a loss for words. Religion can be bad, especially if taught by the wrong people. But if people like that are in charge, maybe it's not so bad. "Alright."

Jisung looked at the clock then to Chenle. "Come sit with me. We got an hour and then we can grab a quick bite to eat," he offered.

The older boy nodded and smiled. "Okay." He got up and made his way next to Jisung, then slung his arm around the younger boy's shoulders and pulled him into a hug.

Both boys smiled as the younger pulled them both down to lay on the bed. Jisung chuckled and relaxed as the older boy snuggled into his side. They laid there for the whole hour before gathering their things and heading downstairs to wait for their other three friends. While waiting, they made sandwiches and ate a whole bag of chips. Once the others arrived, Chenle led all five of them down the street towards the church.

* * *

"Seems like a normal church to me," Jaemin stated.

"Yeah, but it always starts out that way. But when night falls, and the witching hour is upon us, all hell will break loose!" Chenle exclaimed.

Jisung jumped. "Oh please don't say that!"

"Witching hour?" Jeno asked. "When's that?"

"3 am," Chenle responded.

"Well, uh, hey guys. I brought us all cross necklaces to help with protection against any evil living here. I went to my pastor and he had them bathed in holy water," Jisung stated as he held up his pouch. "They're in here. I also have holy water in case we need it."

Renjun raised an eyebrow and looked at the pouch. "That's nice and all, but I highly doubt we'll actually need it."

"Please?" Jisung pleaded but stopped when he knew he'd get nowhere. He put the pouch away again and hugged his Bible.

Chenle smiled and ruffled the younger's hair before walking around to snoop at everything still in the church. Since it was only recently abandoned, there were still a lot of items just randomly strewn about. It almost seemed as if there was just a quick flee and the people only took what they could fit in their arms.

Jeno, also noticing the mess, spoke up. "What happened here?"

"The place is in complete disarray," Renjun offered.

The other nodded as Jisung finally mustered up enough courage to take a few more steps into the building. "Demons," the youngest stated. "That's what happened."

Jeno rolled his eyes as Jaemin chuckled. "There's no such thing as demons, Jisung," Jaemin said. "Or ghosts, or aliens, or even myths such as Cthulhu. That's all child's play."

Renjun hummed in thought. "Well, I think you're wrong there, Jaemin," he mused with a smile. "I believe in aliens. There's proof of other living life forms out there. But as for ghosts and demons, I think it's also possible. I've had run ins with ghosts, so I definitely think it's possible. But if there are demons here, I'd like some proof."

"Well I'm sure you'll get your proof tonight, hyung," Jisung muttered, making Chenle laugh.

Renjun chuckled as he circled the pews. "You know, I kinda hope so."

The youngest sighed as he stepped in a little bit more to watch his friends scour the sanctuary. He hoped for everyone's sake, that they didn't get their proof tonight.

Rule number five:

Renjun sat down in one of the pews and picked up one of the many Bibles in the church. When he opened it, a look of confusion ran across his face.

"These Bibles are blank," he said.

"Rule number five: the Bibles will be blank unless you confess," Jisung recited.

The older Chinese male raised an eyebrow then shrugged. "Alright. Uh, one time I cheated on my math test."

"Unless you confess your _sins,_ " Jisung rephrased.

"Oh," Renjun chuckled. "Alright, well, uh, I'm gay, for one. And Jeno and I had premarital sex." He smirked, not really expecting anything to happen.

Jaemin turned to Jeno in surprise. "You didn't tell me about that!"

"Sorry. It was supposed to be a secret," Jeno replied.

Renjun gasped and squeaked, making the others turn their attention to him. He quickly threw the Bible he was holding down and ran back to Jisung. "You were right, the words reappeared. Give me that necklace!"

Jisung retrieved the necklace out of his pouch and gave it to the oldest. He helped him put it on and muttered a small prayer for him as well.

"How did you know that?" Jeno asked.

Jisung looked at him. "I did my research. Other people have done this before and I asked for help."

"Okay," Jeno just nodded and looked around. "Well, let's look around some more I guess. I would assume this place has more than just a sanctuary."

Chenle giggled and nodded excitedly. "Yes! I think it has a basement! Let's go there!"

"The basement?" Jisung asked wearily. "Why there?"

"Yeah? Doesn't the basement seem like something we'd save for last?" Jaemin added. "Let's see what else is on this floor."

Chenle pouted. "But I wanna go to the basement."

"We could split up," Jeno suggested.

Rule number fifteen: Don't get separated from your friends.

"No!" Jisung protested a little loudly, then quickly covered his mouth. "I mean, we've got all night. Let's explore together. Starting on this floor isn't a bad idea, then we can work our way to the basement."

Chenle smiled. "Well alright. That sounds like a good idea."

As they all started to walk together towards the hallway to their right, Renjun made his way over to Jisung.

"What was that about?" The older Chinese male asked.

Jisung glanced at the other male. "It was one of the rules. Don't get separated," he answered.

"How many rules are there?" Renjun wondered.

"Twenty one," Jisung replied. "I'm really scared, hyung."

The older male nodded with a sigh before grabbing the younger boy's hand. "I know, Jisung. It'll be okay though," he comforted.

Jisung relaxed just a bit at holding Renjun's hand. At least he understood that there was something going on here. Renjun had seen the blank Bibles and then suddenly they weren't blank anymore after he had confessed. At least Renjun believed him.

The church wasn't too big but since Chenle and Jaemin wanted to look inside every cabinet and drawer, room, and nook and cranny, exploring the first floor took about two hours. While in each room, at least one thing would fall off the wall or shelf. After each room, no matter how softly any of them tried to close the door, it always seemed to always slam shut. And at one point, after a door had slammed shut behind Jisung, he turned around to try and open it, but it wouldn't budge. The demons had locked them out of each room they left.

There was only one room left on the first floor and it was what used to be the Pastor's office. Jisung worried about that room. Upon entering, he had an immediate cold chill. The room itself seemed to be 10 degrees colder than the rest of the church.

"It's cold in here," Chenle giggled.

Jisung nodded. "Yeah. It is. Be careful guys."

"Stop being so paranoid," Jaemin said. "There's nothing to worry about." He made his way over to the desk to look at the book open on it. "Hey, this looks like a journal."

"The pastor's last words?" Jeno joked and looked over Jaemin's shoulder.

Curiosity got the best of everyone as they began to make their way over. On his way over, Renjun felt a hand on his back that pushed him, making him smash his body into the wall.

Jeno turned to him and chuckled. "Be careful over there, clumsy."

"I didn't trip, I was pushed," Renjun stated.

"By who?" Jeno asked. "No one is near you and Jisung hasn't even moved a centimeter yet."

Renjun rubbed his now throbbing shoulder and pouted. "I don't know. But I felt a hand on my back and it pushed me."

Jaemin laughed. "Spooky. Maybe the demons don't like that were in here," he mocked.

"Please don't say that," Jisung muttered.

Jeno chuckled and patted Jaemin's back. "Why would they be mad though? If they're lucky, they get another soul to feast on!"

Both boys laughed while Chenle took the journal and made his way back over to Jisung. He rubbed the youngest's back and smiled. "Just ignore them. Once we get back to the main room, we can read this journal!"

Jisung nodded. "Okay. Let's head back then."

"Let's go you two," Renjun told Jaemin and Jeno. "We're going back to the sanctuary."

"But we didn't get to explore this room!" Jaemin protested.

"But you also got to explore every other room for like, 20 minutes each!" Renjun reminded him. "Let's go."

"Yes dear," Jeno condescendingly agreed.

Jaemin hit the older boy's chest as if to reprimand him for talking that way to Renjun, but when the two of them made eye contact, they couldn't help but let out small laughs.

Renjun sighed and walked over to Jisung. "Let's go."

Jeno patted Jaemin's back and pushed him forward so they could mosey on over to the others. On the way over, Jaemin found a rosary and took it.

Jisung finally found his courage to move as the other two approached. He grabbed the doorknob and cried out in pain before his brain could register that he needed to retreat his hand. After doing so, he held it against his chest and shook his head, just willing himself not to cry.

"Are you okay?" Chenle asked worriedly. He pulled Jisung close and wrapped an arm around his middle back to keep him close. Jisung nodded but the older knew better.

Jaemin approached in confusion as to why everyone was still standing around and reached for the doorknob. "Why has no one opened the door yet?"

Before Jisung could speak up, Jaemin had already opened the door and headed out. Jeno chuckled and followed.

Renjun looked at the two youngest and sighed. He ruffled their hair before also leaving and making his way to the sanctuary. Not wanting to be left behind, the other two quickly followed.

"Are we going to the basement now?!" Chenle squeaked excitedly.

Jisung rubbed his back as he made his way to a pew. "I was hoping we could read the journal first," he said. "Like you had suggested."

"Oh yeah!" Chenle exclaimed and sat down next to Jisung. He handed him the journal and smiled.

The youngest took the journal and placed it in his lap. Before opening it, he examined his hand that had gotten burned while trying to open the door. In his palm, sure enough, it looked as if two parallel lines had been diagonally branded onto his skin.

Chenle noticed and gently felt them, making Jisung wince in pain. He quickly removed his hand and blew on the mark instead. That seemed to help. Afterwards, they opened up the journal and began to silently read it.

Before Jaemin and Jeno could follow to sit down, Renjun stopped them by stepping in front of them. "Why are you two being such assholes?"

"We're not," Jeno answered.

"Yeah, we're just having a little fun," Jaemin added.

Renjun sighed. "Well, how about during your fun, you stop being so mean to Jisung. You guys know how hard it's been for him lately. Be nice."

Jaemin stopped and looked at Jeno before sighing. "I'm just trying to show him that there's nothing to be scared of here. It's all in his head."

"Whether you believe that or not, have a little respect for how Jisung feels," the oldest scolded and walked away to sit next to the two youngest.

Jeno and Jaemin sighed to each other before walking over to sit in a pew. On his way by, Jaemin ran a comforting hand through Jisung's hair and smiled at him. Then, both boys took a seat in the pew in front of the others and turned around to face them.

"Did you guys actually read this while you had it?" Jisung asked the two in front of him.

Jaemin shook his head. "No. We just kinda assumed what it was."

"Why? What's it say?" Jeno asked.

"Read it to us," Chenle sang. "I wanna know!"

Jisung chuckled at Chenle and smiled. "Okay okay. You guys were right though. It's the pastor's journal." He flipped to the previous page and scanned to see where he should start reading.

_"After last night's service, I fear as though something has entered our safe place. Something that is trying to make our place of sanction, unholy."_

"What was 'last night's service'? What happened that night?" Jaemin asked.

Jisung stopped and flipped to the page before that one. His eyes scanned the words to find what he was looking for. "Uh, here it is."

" _During our service today, all the lights flickered six times before completely shutting off. When I went over to the AV team to see what was going on, all of them, except one, were unresponsive. The person who spoke to me though, was not a man I knew. He spoke with two voices, warning me of the oncoming evil that I could not stop. After reviewing the video at that moment, I did not show up on camera, and the man's body temperature was way above that of what a human being's body can withstand. Something is going on here."_

Chenle's eyes widened as his mouth hung open in disbelief. He let out a nervous and awkward laugh. "Whoa. Read more."

Jisung nodded and flipped the page back to where he was. Before reading some more, he looked up to see his friends' faces. Jeno and Jaemin seemed unphased as usual, but interested. Renjun seemed to scoot closer to Chenle as the reading continued.

" _The devil has sent one of his minions to taint our place of worship. This is just a test of our faith and we will not fail. We will not be taken down by a measly minion. Our faith is strong."_

Jisung smiled at reading those words. But the feeling of pride soon left him as he realized that this place had been taken down. Their faith may have been strong, but it could not keep their place of worship from falling into the hands of the devil. For this, he sighed and took a moment of silence to pray for the fallen sanctuary. He flipped the page to read more.

" _I feel our faith may not be strong enough to keep these creatures out. For weeks now, we have been able to keep them at bay, but that is not enough. We must cleanse the church completely before we become too infested. I know there is more than one demon amongst us and our time is running short. Tomorrow, we cleanse."_

Jeno shifted in his seat before resting his cheek in his hand. "Doesn't seem like the cleanse worked, does it?"

Jisung shook his head. "No it doesn't," he sighed and continued on.

" _The cleanse was a success! We have taken back our sanction!"_

"No you haven't," Jeno laughed, which earned him a literal slap on the wrist from Renjun.

Jisung scanned the page and jumped ahead a little before reading some more.

" _Our cleanse was not successful-"_

"Well no fucking shit," Jeno quipped, making Jaemin laugh out loud.

Jisung let out a sigh followed by a small chuckle then continued.

_"The number of demons has multiplied and infested these once sacred grounds. I feel that this church is no longer consecrated. We must flee before it is too late. We still have our faith and love of God. We can always rebuild elsewhere."_

"Why does this guy write as if it's not the modern ages?" Jeno asked. "Like, isn't this church only five years old? He said he even had an AV team."

Jaemin began laughing and buried his face into the other male's shoulder. "It's so true though."

Renjun sighed and gave then both a sideways glare. "Will you two quit it?"

"What?" Jeno questioned with a chuckled. "I'm invested in this story."

"Me too," Jaemin added. "But like, skip to the end or something. I wanna hear about the demons taking over and eating his soul or whatever."

"You two are so immature," the older Chinese male huffed.

Nonetheless, Jisung obliged and skipped past a few pages towards the end. He looked through the words quickly before reading them aloud.

_"I feared for the worst and the worst has come. One of our own has been possessed and another has died from the madness here. Things are spiralling out of control. We must grab what we can and retreat. The devil may have won this battle, but he will never win the war."_

Renjun scooted even closer to the younger Chinese boy and pulled him into a hug from behind. Chenle held the oldest's hand, too invested in the telling to notice the breath of Renjun on his neck.

Jisung's hand began to shake as he turned the page to read the last words of the previous pastor. His breath hitched as his voice got caught in his throat. He took a staggering breath and trudged on.

" _The bell is ringing-"_

A loud band resounded throughout the whole church as wind chimes began to sing. All five boys jumped and huddled into one another, way too invested now. Jisung shook and reached his hand out to hold the younger Chinese boy's hand. Chenle took it in his own and ran his thumb over the youngest's knuckles to calm him.

"Keep going," Chenle encouraged.

Jisung nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay."

" _The bell is ringing and the sound of footsteps fill the corridor. No one is in here with me. As they come closer, the bell sounds louder and louder, almost as if it's right in my ear."_

The youngest stopped to catch his breath. At some point, he had begun to pant. He heard a ringing in his ears that made it hard to hear but he kept going.

" _I made a promise to protect this sanctuary with all that I am, so if God wills it, I will go down with this church. With my rosary and the will of God, I will cleanse this place of all evil or die trying!"_

The church bell rang loudly in the sanctuary, making Jisung panic and hyperventilate.

"They're here…" he finished and threw the journal aside.

"That Pastor is gone! They took him!" Jisung sobbed. "We shouldn't be here!"

Jaemin wanted to speak up. He wanted to tell him that it was just a story; that there were no demons. But even without Renjun's glare telling him not to, he knew he shouldn't. Instead, he would just be there for his friend.

The youngest shook as sadness overtook him. That ringing in his ears hadn't gone away yet and it only made him cry harder, louder. He covered his ears in attempt to muffle the sound but it wouldn't stop. It only got louder and more prominent. It sounded as if it was right next to him. He let out a scream and buried his face in his legs.

As his sobs died down, he uncovered his ears and realized the noise was gone. Jisung sniffled and looked up to see his friends staring at him in horror. He had just screamed at the top of his lungs and, to them, for no reason.

"I'm sorry," Jisung whispered.

Chenle nodded but said nothing. As he reached for the younger's hand, the church bell began to ring throughout the sanctuary, making all of them spooked. Jisung held onto Chenle's hand tightly before he gave up on boundaries and just hugged his best friend.

"It's okay," Renjun comforted. "That bell is just signalling that it's five minutes past midnight." He reached over and began to rub Jisung's back in attempt to calm him down. "The first one was that it was midnight. Everything will be okay."

Jaemin nodded. "No matter what happens, we'll protect you."

"Thank you…" Jisung whimpered.

Once their youngest had finally collected himself, they began to make their way to the basement. Before they got to the steps, Jaemin stopped Jisung.

"Hey Jisung," Jaemin began before holding out the rosary he had found in what was the pastor's chamber. "In that journal, the pastor talked about his rosary and I found it. I didn't know if maybe you wanted to put it on, or hold on to it. I just thought maybe it could help?"

Jisung stopped and looked at it.

Rule number twelve: If you find a rosary, don't put it on. It won't help.

Remembering the rules, he shook his head. "Thank you, but no. It has been tainted and will no longer help us." Jisung tried to show his appreciation by smiling at Jaemin.

Jaemin nodded and decided to toss it aside. "Alright." He smiled back and ruffled Jisung's hair as they began their descent to the basement.

The moment he was through the doorway, voices whispered into Jeno's ears as they walked down. He just ignored them and waved his hand as if swatting a fly away. Once there, it was as if someone had begun to walk beside the black haired boy.

Jeno ignored it all and tried to focus on the concrete floor beneath him. He followed behind his best friend, Jaemin, in hopes that his presence would make him feel better. It did not.

The feeling of something, someone, next to him continued. It poked and prodded at him, tugged on his hair, even. Then, he heard a whimper; a little girl's cry, so he had to stop.

_"Oppa! Help me!"_

Jeno's breath hitched as he looked around frantically. Where was she? He had to find her.

_"I'm right here! Where are you?!"_

"Jina!" Jeno shouted.

The other boys stopped walking. Jeno's outburst surprised the others because he never talked about that day.

More voices mixed and whispered into Jeno's ear. _It's your fault she's gone. Why can't you take responsibility for your actions? If you were there, you could've saved her._

Jeno tried desperately to make them go away. He covered his ears and closed his eyes. His head shook in desperation as he whimpered.

_You're the reason she's gone!_

"No!" Jeno cried out. "It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" He began to cry as he collapsed to the ground. "It's not my fault," the boy whined again, as if trying to convince himself. "I didn't do it…"

Renjun hurried over to his boyfriend as he hugged his knees and began to cry. "Jeno…"

"I didn't do it… I didn't know…" was all he could manage to cry.

The oldest did his best to scoop the younger male into his arms so that he could hold and comfort him. "You know it's not your fault and so do I. Don't let anyone or anything tell you otherwise." Renjun placed a kiss on Jeno's temple and ran his fingers through his boyfriend's black hair.

Jeno reached up and pulled the older closer. He relaxed in Renjun's arms and calmed himself down. Once that was over, Renjun helped the other male to his feet and led him back over to their friends. Intertwining their fingers, the Chinese male made sure to stay close to Jeno.

Jaemin rubbed his best friend's back in encouragement and smiled. "Everything will be okay."

Jeno nodded and tried to distract himself from the event that just happened by focusing his attention on something else. In front of him, he noticed that Jisung hugged himself and shivered. He rubbed his arms up and down to try and warm himself up, but to no avail.

"It's cold in here," the youngest stated.

Chenle agreed with a nod and looked around. "Poor insulation?"

"I hope so," Jisung sighed and shook his head. "But I don't think so."

"Are you thinking that there's more demons down here?" Renjun asked.

Jisung turned and nodded. "I don't think that there's just more down here. I think that this is where they reside."

Chenle rubbed Jisung's back while Jaemin looked around. "What was even down here? What does a church use a basement for?" Jaemin asked.

Jeno shrugged as they continued walking around. There was a lot of space with not a lot in it to fill it all up. Maybe that was something the pastor was still working on before it became infested.

After a few minutes of searching, the boys came upon a pool of water raised to chest level. It was large enough to fit a full grown adult and still have room on all sides.

"I think we found our answer," Jisung commented.

Chenle became very confused. "They bathed down here?" He asked.

Jeno audibly face-palmed while Jisung chuckled in disbelief.

"No," the youngest answered. "This is where they baptized people."

"Ooohh," Chenle understood and giggled. "My bad."

Jaemin couldn't hold back from chuckling at Chenle's words and neither could Jisung after Jaemin started laughing.

"Okay!" Jisung tried to get everyone back on track. "This is a baptism bath, not an actual bath. Let's see what else is down here."

Chenle giggled and began to look around some more. Renjun followed him and pointed at a bowl that was on raised ground.

"What's that?" Chenle asked.

"Let's find out," the oldest replied and made his way over.

Jisung followed and examined it. He ran his fingers along the rim of it and felt the engravings on the side. "It's a holy water offering bowl," he explained. "Somewhere in here, there must be a concrete stand where the water gets purified."

"A concrete stand?" Renjun wondered.

"Like a bird bath stand?" Chenle chimed in.

Jisung sighed at having a holy relic be compared to a bird bath but nodded anyway. "I guess, yeah. Like that."

"Is there holy water in that bowl?" Jeno asked.

Rule number thirteen:

Chenle nodded. "Yeah," he answered but his attention was elsewhere. Something in the darkness has caught his eye. As he squinted to get a better look, it seemed to move away from them.

"Really?" Jaemin came closer to get a better look and chuckled upon seeing the water in the bowl.

Jisung tried to interject and correct them because technically, yes, there was water in it, but that didn't mean it was holy.

Renjun patted Jaemin's back. "Maybe we're in luck?"

Chenle stopped listening to the others talk and decided instead to take a step towards the moving figure. When it suddenly and quickly moved to the other wall closest to the Chinese boy, he jumped and squeaked.

Thoroughly spooked, Chenle stepped back and grabbed the bowl. "This is holy water, right?"

Jisung tried once again to speak up but no one seemed to be paying him much attention.

"Well, there's water in a holy bowl, so, maybe?" Renjun answered before Jisung could.

"Close enough," the younger Chinese boy held the bowl close and stopped in his tracks.

Jisung sensed something was wrong and tried to get Chenle's attention. "That bowl won't help you!"

But Chenle didn't want to listen. His focus was on the person in the dark. What was it? He didn't know but he also didn't want to find out anymore. "Begone demon!" Chenle just wanted to throw the whole bowl at this point.

Jisung grabbed Chenle's arm before he could. "Stop it! It won't help! Rule number thirteen states that the water is no longer holy! Throwing it at the demons in the shadows won't work!"

The Chinese boy tossed the offering bowl aside and screamed as the shadow hurried closer. He quickly tried to hide himself in Jisung's arms. He always felt safe in those arms, so why would now be any different? "Jisung!" Chenle cried out as he hugged the taller boy.

The youngest thought fast as he pulled one of the vials of holy water from his pouch. He opened it and held it out. "Stay back!" Thinking back to when he packed for the night, he remembered the cross in his bag and looked towards his friends. "Renjun hyung, in my bag is a cross. Get it out, please."

Renjun quickly obeyed and dug through the maknae's bag. He pulled out a golden looking one and held it up to Jisung. "Is this it?"

Jisung glanced at it and quickly took it. "Yes," he answered. While still holding Chenle close, he poured the holy water onto his cross and held it back out. That was one vial down.

In the distance, Jisung heard hissing. Whether anyone else heard it or not did not matter. Jisung knew it was there. He knew it was real and it only made his faith in God grow more. Jisung was going to protect Chenle and the rest of his friends. They were going to make it out.

"Leave us be!" Jisung called out while waving his cross around. The shadow hissed louder but did not move. "Begone! May the power of Christ compel you!" He flicked his wrist to let some of the holy water splash in front of the demon.

It made an ungodly sound that made the youngest flinch before it ran away. Jisung sighed in relief and sunk to the floor with Chenle still in his arms. The Chinese boy tightened the hug and refused to let go. Jisung did not mind at least and began to play with Chenle's hair.

"What just happened?" Jaemin questioned. "Why are you two on the floor? You act like you just saw a ghost."

Jisung shook his head. "Not a ghost."

"A demon," Renjun supplied.

Jaemin tilted his head and chuckled. "Okay."

Renjun was baffled at just how oblivious Jaemin was to everything going on. "Did you not just see what happened? Did you not hear the hissing or that screech?"

"Well, yeah. I heard the hissing. But I was very confused as to why it was happening. Other than that, I didn't see or hear anything else," the other answered.

Renjun shook his head in disbelief.

"It's not his fault," Jisung whispered. "They don't want him to know yet." His eyes were wide as he looked up at the other boys. "They have something else planned for him…"

"That's a little ominous," Jeno stated.

"Who's 'they'?" Jaemin asked. "Why are you guys acting so weird?"

Jisung shook his head. Something in him made him want to give up, want to just sit there. He didn't have the energy anymore to do anything; not even change the tone of his voice. So when he spoke, it was flat. "We should go…"

"Go? Go where?" Jeno asked.

"Home. We need to leave…" Jisung knew they needed to get out. They needed to leave and never come back. He also knew that they would need to hurry though and that made his fire ignite once more. It slowly made the energy come back to him, and he cursed himself for ever wanting to give up. That's what they wanted.

Before anyone could stop or interrupt him again, Jisung patted Chenle and had them both get back to their feet. The older looked at Jisung confused. "Are you okay?" Chenle asked.

Jisung shook his head. "No. We have to get out of here. Before it's too late." He turned to the others with wide eyes. "If it's like you said, Chenle, then we need to leave before 3 am hits. Once witching hour is upon us, there's no telling what these creatures will do. We have to leave now."

Renjun had no objections to that and neither did Chenle. The older Chinese male grabbed his boyfriend's hand and kept him close. "Let's go guys." He looked at Jaemin. "Let's get out of here."

All of them nodded and stayed close to one another. Jisung held Chenle's hand and hurried them towards the basement entrance.

Renjun tugged on Jisung's shirt to stop him. "Is there another way out? One that might be quicker?"

Rule number seventeen:

Jisung shook his head. "No. Rule number seventeen: Leave through the doors you came in." He pointed to the basement doors. "It's not too far. We can do this. Trust me."

The oldest nodded. "Okay. I trust you. Let's go."

Quickly, the five of them headed for the stairs. As soon as Jisung was half-way up, the doors slammed shut, making the youngest fall back.

"No!" Jisung exclaimed.

"They're trying to keep us here," Renjun whispered.

Jisung was not going to give up now. He bolted up the rest of the way and threw his body into the doors. Once. Twice. Three times. He went to go once more but was stopped and instead thrown down the stairs.

"Jisung!" The other four shouted before catching him.

"Are you okay?" Jeno asked.

The maknae nodded and grabbed his shoulder. "I'll be fine. We have to do something."

As Jisung got to his feet, he searched the area with his eyes for anything that they could use to their advantage. Chenle kept a hand on the younger to steady him as they thought of how to get out.

Before anyone had come up with anything, the organ from the sanctuary began to play. All of them could hear it from where they were standing, sending Jisung into a panic. The others knew there must be a rule regarding that as well.

"Rule number ten: If you hear the organ playing while you're in the basement, know that your time is running out," Jisung recited.

Jeno had finally been spooked enough into wanting one of those necklaces that Jisung had brought. He tapped the youngest on the shoulder and looked at him. "If you don't mind, I'd like that necklace now."

Jisung nodded and removed one from the pouch, then helped him put it on. He placed his hand over it and whispered a small prayer like he had done for the rest of them.

Renjun turned his attention to Jaemin. "Please tell me this is enough to convince you to wear the necklace?"

Jaemin didn't reply. Instead, he stood on the bottom step, staring into the darkness of the basement, before slowly turning his whole body towards the others. "What'd you say? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He shook his head as if he was just simply zoning out.

Jeno looked at the others before going back down and rubbing Jaemin's back. "That's alright. Why don't you help us get back to the sanctuary?"

The other male thought for a second before nodding his head slowly. "Yeah. That's a good idea. The sanctuary." Without giving much thought or attention to his other friends, Jaemin slowly made his way up the stairs, past his friends, and to the door. He reached for the handle then stopped.

"Why are we going to the sanctuary?" Jaemin asked.

"Because, if we're going to sleep here, it'd be more comfortable to sleep in a pew, don't you think?" Renjun offered.

Jaemin nodded. "Yeah. That's true," he replied as he opened the door to the upstairs. Once the door was open, the others quickly followed and made their way into the sanctuary.

Jisung leaned against the wall and hid his face in his hands. He took a deep, shaky breath as his eyes stung from unshed tears. Knowing that the night was not over, he willed himself to calm down and prepared for whatever would be thrown at them next.

"Jaemin hyung," the youngest called out. "I know you don't think that there is anything here, but it would make me feel so much better if you wore the necklace that I brought."

The others stared at Jisung in confusion. Weren't they trying to leave this place? Why did he all of a sudden want Jaemin to have protection from this place if they were trying to leave it?

Not fully aware of what seemed to be going on around him, Jaemin nodded. "Sure. If it'll ease your mind, I'll wear it."

"Jisung, what are you doing?" Renjun questioned. "I thought we were leaving. You said that we had to go! And urgently!"

The youngest nodded but held up his hand. He had a plan but couldn't say anything in fear that something else was paying attention; listening to their conversation.

Chenle, having known Jisung for a long time, understood that. He leaned in close to the oldest and whispered something to him in Chinese. Renjun seemed to have got it since he sighed but nodded.

Jisung removed the pouch from where it stayed and held it in his hand. He kept his eyes on Jaemin as the younger opened it up and attempted to make it look like he was struggling to get the last necklace out. All the while, he was actually trying to open one of the vials of holy water. If something was wrong with Jaemin, and something definitely was, then holy water would tell him if it's an evil inside him or not.

Jaemin sauntered his way towards the youngest, which was not like him at all. Usually, the older was full of life and fun, but now, he seemed almost like a zombie just following orders; lifeless, no emotion behind anything he did. It honestly worried Jisung to no end. He worried that there would be nothing left of the Jaemin he knew and loved. Maybe the only thing that would be left would just be a shell of the old Jaemin. And that scared Jisung. He loved his friends a lot.

Pushing aside his intruding thoughts, Jisung pulled out the necklace along with the vial of holy water that he couldn't open. If something was harboring itself inside of Jaemin, it definitely would not like that.

Before he had another chance to try and open it, Jaemin stopped in front of Jisung. "Why do you have that vial?" The older asked.

Jisung took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "I'm sorry Jaemin hyung," he said.

Jaemin took a step back and Jisung followed in suit. Only, Jisung was able to get closer as his legs were longer. The younger held the necklace out over Jaemin as he tried to run away. Before he could get very far, Jisung smashed the vial over the pendant and watched as the holy water splashed everywhere, including Jaemin's arm.

The second the liquid landed on the older male, his skin hissed as steam radiated from the forming burns, making him screech. As he dropped to the ground, his screeches turned into warped screams.

Jisung gasped and ran back over to the others. "Jaemin hyung is possessed!" He exclaimed and began to panic.

"What are we supposed to do about that?!" Chenle questioned.

"Can you exorcise him?!" Renjun pleaded.

"Uh, maybe? I, I know it. But I've never done it before. It's all in Latin," Jisung stuttered as the screams from a few rows over began to quiet down.

"Just do it! Please!" Jeno begged and held Renjun close.

"Okay! Okay!" Jisung took a deep breath, held his Bible a little closer, and brought the golden cross up and towards the possessed Jaemin. "Our Father who art thou in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come-"

Jaemin stood quickly and rushed towards the youngest, most likely in attempt to stop the exorcism. But Jisung began and he was not going to stop now.

"Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven, give us this, our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses. Amen." Jisung continued to pray before beginning the exorcism.

The older stopped and tilted his head, watching Jisung ominously.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica," Jisung began.

At those words, Jaemin let out an evil cry as his body folded backwards in an inhuman way.

"Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te."

As the younger continued, Jaemin screamed and ran at the boy. Jisung closed his eyes in hopes that the Lord would protect him and continued on with his Latin.

"Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare."

Jaemin threw up upon the next line while foam gurgled out of his mouth like a rabid dog.

"Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis." Jisung dared to open his eyes to see the older male glaring daggers into him.

Before Jisung could continue, Jaemin spoke. "I know you think your parents divorce is your fault."

Jisung's words caught in his throat, but he kept on. "Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei;"

"You told your mother what he did to you in the middle of that night, not knowing it would tear their relationship apart."

How did Jaemin know this? Jisung gasped and felt a panic attack welling inside of him. He hadn't told anyone else about that. Not even Chenle knew. The boy knew he had to continue, but the words came out strained and dry.

"Contremisce et effuge… invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine."

"Ever since then you've been scared of who you are! Scared that you really are your father’s son; that he’s still inside you, that you’re tainted," Jaemin stood straight again and bore holes into Jisung with his eyes. "And you're right. You’re just like him. You'll never be anything other than that. A horrible, filthy, monster!"

Jisung's panic overtook him as he began to cry. His brain shut down and all he could do was continue with the last thing his mind was focused on.

"Quem inferi tremunt. Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine," Jisung recited mindlessly as tears dripped to the floor.

The older collapsed onto the floor as a blood curdling scream escaped from the mouth of Jaemin. It sounded unholy and warped once again. He flopped around before coming to a stop altogether in another attempt to get the youngest to cease his exorcism.

"Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos." Jisung finished and dropped to the floor, letting everything he was previously holding fall out of his arms, as his brain had nothing else to focus on. It was just him and his panic attack now.

Chenle ran to his best friend and held him close as Renjun grabbed the necklace and put it around Jaemin's neck. All that mattered now was that they were all one step closer to leaving.

Renjun, being the oldest, thought quick on his feet. Jaemin was passed out on the floor after an excruciating exorcism while Jisung was not in a right state of mind to move. He looked to Jeno and snapped his fingers.

"Jeno. I need you to pick up Jaemin now," Renjun turned to the younger Chinese boy. "Chenle. Grab Jisung, pick him up if you have to, and let's get out of here."

Both boys did as they were told. Jeno picked up Jaemin with barely a struggle as Chenle picked up Jisung with much difficulty. Renjun helped Chenle but it was still difficult because of how tall and lanky Jisung was. Once they were able to though, the boys made their way out the doors and onto the street.

When Renjun deemed they were a safe distance away, he helped Chenle set Jisung down. Chenle held the crying boy close as Renjun played with his hair. After about ten minutes had gone by, Jisung finally began to calm down. No one dared to say a word about what they heard.

Before Jisung had fully composed himself, Jaemin began to awake and looked around in confusion. He said nothing and just observed as Jisung wiped away his own tears and checked his surroundings for all of his belongings.

Something was missing. He had his backpack, still full of snacks and water that none of them utilized. He felt the velvet pouch on his belt loop and took a deep breath.

Rule number nineteen: Never enter the same abandoned church twice. Especially if you forgot something inside. That's a lure. On your second time through, they will know enough about you to keep you there.

"My Bible!" Jisung exclaimed, finally realizing what was missing. He took another deep, calming breath to compose himself. After realizing his Bible was still in that church, he also found that his golden cross was not with him either.

"It's okay Jisung. It's just a Bible," Chenle comforted.

Jisung frantically nodded. "Don't go back in, it's just a Bible. Don't go back in, it's just a Bible. Don't go back in, it's just a Bible," the younger chanted as if trying to convince himself. "Don't go back in, it's just a Bible. I can just tell Pastor Ashely what happened, and he can get me a new one."

Noticing Jaemin's confused look, Jeno took it upon himself to fill him in on what happened. He whispered to Jaemin so as to keep Jisung from reliving it so soon, but felt that his friend should know the situation.

Renjun smiled sadly but knew that they had to deal with this. Just not tonight. Tonight, they would put this all behind them and be normal teenagers 'til dawn. Then, when things had calmed down enough, they would talk about it. Everything would be alright. They would just have to take it one day at a time.

* * *

A few days later, one of the surrounding Catholic churches sent one of their priests in to cleanse that church of all it's evil.

He never came back out. It's been a week now.

Jisung had been very troubled ever since that night at the church and decided to talk with someone he felt could help.

"Pastor Ashely? May I talk with you?" Jisung asked wearily. If anyone understood him and the way he thought, it was definitely his pastor.

The man looked at the shaking boy in front of him and nodded. "Of course, my boy. Let's take a walk."


End file.
